Rufous Hummingbird

COLIBRI ROUX

Selasphorus rufus (Gmelin)

 

Occasional summer and fall visitor.

 

Similar in size and proportions to the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, this species is distinguished by rusty coloration—bright and extensive in adult males, paler and restricted to the flanks and tail in females and juveniles. The male’s iridescent red throat feathers flare out at the sides. If possible, care should be taken to rule out the look-alike Allen’s Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin), a more southerly species yet to be recorded in Canada. Notorious for their aggressive behaviour, Rufous Hummingbirds outfly all other North American hummingbirds and drive them away from feeders or flower-beds.¹

 

The Rufous Hummingbird breeds in the western mountains from southeastern Alaska to northern California and east to the Alberta Rockies, and winters mainly in Mexico. It is an uncommon to rare wanderer farther east, mostly in late summer and fall, and has been found in nearly every North American state and province. There have been at least 16 reports in Manitoba, 11 of them scattered across southern Manitoba from Lyleton to the Whiteshell region, and no fewer than five in and near Churchill.

 

Although it is likely that most of the birds reported were correctly identified, only five sightings have been documented well enough to be confirmed. A male turned up at a feeder at the home of Mr. and Mrs. O. Scott in Selkirk in September 1979 and remained until mid-October, when word got out and it was seen by many observers.^2,3 Caught on 18 October, this bird was kept indoors all winter, but oddly died immediately upon release in the spring; the specimen was apparently not preserved. Another male was photographed at Brandon by Harold E. Watson on 13 September 1982.⁴ Several observers identified a Rufous Hummingbird, probably an immature male, that frequented the English Gardens at Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg from 15 to 21 August 1983. A female or immature male lingered at Minna Toews’ feeder at Blumenort, near Steinbach, from about 12 October to 5 November 1987. The most recent bird was photographed at Benito by A. Satz on 27 September 2000.

 

The 16 reports are strangely clustered in time: five in 1942–1951, nine in 1978–1988, and just two since then. The scarcity of reports since 1988 is surprising, given the ever-increasing popularity of hummingbird feeders and the general improvement in communication among birders. The seasonal pattern is also interesting: no sightings before mid-June, and all but two between mid-July and September. Similar patterns in Minnesota, Saskatchewan, and South Dakota indicate that southbound migrants are much more inclined to stray east of the mountains than northbound birds.^5‑7 This is consistent with the main migration routes, which appear to take advantage of prevailing winds around the Great Basin: north through coastal states in spring but south along the Continental Divide in late summer.¹

 

¹ True 1993; ² Koes 1985; ³ Photo by D. Fast in MNS Bull. 34:18, Dec. 1979; ⁴ MM file photo; ⁵ Janssen 1987; ⁶ Smith 1996; ⁷ South Dakota Ornithological Union 1991.

 

G.E. Holland, R.F. Koes, P. Taylor